Eric, Hannah, Lyria, and Livy weren’t targeted by Bella Noll’s Spiritual Pressure, but her terrifying killing intent was so intense it made all four of them lightheaded, with sweat covering them from head to toe.

  Hannah was about to collapse. Noticing this, Livy quickly held her by the shoulder, but even she wasn’t having it easy.

  Eric once again felt this was too surreal. Currently, he felt as if he stood before a huge, raging fire—though the flames weren’t burning him, the heat still affected him and the girls beside him.

  Just how the hell something which was mostly just psychological had started affecting the physical so clearly?

  Riya, within Eric’s head, continuously murmured, “Wow… Wow.” She’d never imagined this was possible.

  Staring at Cooper through Eric’s eyes, she was equally confused.

  How could anyone fight under such conditions?

  Cooper, who was facing Bella Noll’s Spiritual Pressure, was physically pressed down to the ground as if his exterior and interior had become too heavy for him to even lift himself up.

  Even as a Warrior, he was suffocating under the gargantuan pressure. His bones felt as if they might snap at any moment. He was in such a terrible state that he couldn’t even ask for forgiveness, as he could not breathe properly.

  Cooper was extremely horrified. He had never experienced such powerful Spiritual Pressure in his life.

  Though Cooper trained regularly and was fairly strong, he was still just an early-stage Rank 1 warrior. He rarely left Ringwood Town and had never seen a mid-stage Rank 1 in battle, let alone higher. He lacked the necessary experience to judge the Spiritual Pressure that was crushing him, but he felt he might die soon if this continued.

  Bella Noll hadn’t really gone all out; her Spiritual Pressure was just a percentage of what she was fully capable of, but even so, it was too much for Cooper to handle.

  Just when Cooper thought he would die, another middle-aged man, who looked about forty years old, arrived.

  This man wore a brown vest over a white shirt and a loose black tie. He had a trimmed beard and mustache with curly brown hair. He projected an air of charm, confidence, and approachability.

  He was Jarvis Laroche, the town mayor of Ringwood Town, a late-stage Rank 1 Warrior.

  When Jarvis Laroche arrived, he also faced the raging presence of Bella Noll and was extremely shocked.

  He had never seen Bella Noll so furious before, as she was a very kind and patient person. They didn’t have too many interactions, but he had met her a few times in the past, since Bella Noll was a powerful foreign immigrant who lived within his town.

  Jarvis was genuinely very welcoming of Bella Noll in his town.

  Ringwood Town was built in a very secure and safe place with no random Mana Beasts or Mana Wielders attacking them, but there was never any guarantee that trouble could suddenly arrive.

  Ringwood Town was much bigger than any nearby villages and even some towns they knew of, but it didn’t even have a single Rank 2, while even those smaller villages did. So Ringwood Town was always at risk.

  In such a situation, if there was any Rank 2 or above who just wished to live in the town peacefully without creating trouble or trying to take over, then Jarvis and the other nobles of the town would gladly welcome them, and Bella Noll was exactly such a person. Not only that, Bella Noll had spent a lot of money on the town and was also using her own funds to care for unfortunate children who had lost their parents.

  Even so, Jarvis, as mayor, could not stand quietly and watch his town lose even a single Mana Wielder. So he had to come and try to rescue Cooper, at least do his best to the point where he wouldn’t lose his own life while also not ruining his relationship with Bella Noll.

  Jarvis always thought Bella Noll was a very powerful Mana Wielder and possibly a Rank 2 Mythical Knight, but after facing her ‘presence’ so vividly, he had goosebumps throughout his body.

  'No, she might very well be a Rank 3—and not just any, but a late-stage Rank 3 Mythical Knight!'

  Jarvis’s eyes trembled. Even in a city as large as Batley City, he had never heard of such a high-ranked Mythical Knight, except for one person, a living legend rarely discussed in public, though everyone knew of him: Antonio Lasalle.

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  Batley City was gigantic, with a population in the millions, tens of thousands of Apprentice Ranks, and even a Master Rank as City Lord. Yet even there, Mythical Knights were rarely seen, and one above Rank 2 was so rare the entire city would know of their existence.

  Mana Wielders who choose the Mystical Knight pathway while becoming a Mana Wielder would almost always switch to either being a Mage or a Warrior at Rank 2. Those who could last until becoming Rank 3 are nearly celebrities and legends.

  Jarvis had never traveled to Silvia’s capital city, Sildargrade, but he was certain there could only be a handful of such high-ranked Mythical Knights. It was the most difficult path to progress.

  The hardest thing about Mythical Knights was that an Apprentice Rank doesn’t have a long enough lifespan to trudge that path. They might die naturally before reaching Rank 2.

  Sadly, due to limited experience, Jarvis couldn’t be certain of Bella Noll’s rank, but her presence was definitely far beyond late-stage Rank 2. In other words, she could only be Rank 3 or higher!

  Jarvis couldn’t help but feel awe toward Bella Noll. He suddenly believed he’d honored his ancestors by allowing such a person to live in Ringwood Town.

  Even so, he had to appease Bella Noll first. Hopefully, she would calm down, and no one would die today.

  Jarvis didn’t hesitate and swiftly bowed. He spoke with deep respect and forgiveness in his tone, “Madam Bella Noll, as you know, I am Mayor Jarvis Laroche. It has been a while since I last visited you. I don’t know what happened to garner such anger from you toward Cooper Eldridge, but can you please forgive him? I will investigate this matter and deal out proper punishment as necessary, and I will also make sure proper compensation is made for any inconveniences you or the orphanage might have faced.”

  There were many town guards who had arrived; they all stood a little farther away. Watching the town’s Mayor Jarvis bowing with such respect, they all felt shocked and, at the same time, conflicted.

  They knew that the orphanage’s House Mother Bella Noll was a strong individual, and even Lord Jarvis had commanded them not to trouble her over small matters. But even so, they never thought that their town’s mayor, whom they considered the strongest, would be so respectful toward Bella Noll.

  They didn’t know how this day’s matter would end, but one thing was certain: from today onward, no one within Ringwood Town would dare to create trouble for the orphanage, not even other nobles.

  Bella Noll didn’t keep her spiritual pressure over Cooper after Jarvis requested, and she removed it.

  Spiritual pressure requires a huge amount of Mana and also causes lightheadedness; it was something no truly experienced Mana Wielders would use in battle. Bella Noll hadn’t even used her full pressure, but just with that, she had lost at least a few months’ worth of her lifespan.

  Bella Noll was internally injured, and every time she uses Mana, her lifespan shortens. She doesn’t mind it being shortened further, but she now wishes to see the three children behind her grow into adults at least before she leaves for her own journey into the afterlife.

  Jarvis released a deep sigh of relief upon seeing Bella Noll retract her pressure.

  He quickly straightened up and signaled his guards to pick up the nearly dead Cooper and take him away for medical care.

  Bella Noll didn’t interrupt them; she had done all she planned. Sadly, the person she was waiting for hadn’t arrived, but with this, her orphanage should now be safe, at least while she lived.

  Jarvis once again let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief when he noticed Bella Noll was not stopping him from saving Cooper. He bowed to her again: “Madam Bella Noll, if the current time is convenient, may we speak in private?”

  Bella Noll nodded. She had to attend this brief meeting for her inquiry.

  She led Jarvis to her office and kept the matter short.

  She learned what she wanted: the whereabouts of Stuart Eldridge, head of the Eldridge family. It seemed he had gone to Batley City and wouldn’t return for another six months to a year.

  A pity.

  She originally wanted to end both the Mana Wielders of the Eldridge family to end this matter thoroughly, and that was why she held on and didn’t kill Cooper. If Stuart Eldridge was still within the town or in the vicinity and would have returned by night, then she would have wiped them all out at night. But sadly, it would be a long time until he returned.

  In other words, she couldn’t kill them unless they again took aggression toward her, which seemed unlikely due to their renewed fear of her. If she killed them six or so months later, then the rest of the remaining town’s nobles would be too terrified of her and her oppression over them. Although it wouldn’t bring her trouble at this moment, after she died, everyone within the orphanage would suffer because of them.

  The reason Bella Noll could not kill Cooper today was simple: it would bring a great threat to Eric and everyone within the orphanage.

  She was indeed a late-stage Rank 3 Mythical Knight but was not Rank 4; she could not throw Spiritual Sense outside to observe situations through walls. If Stuart Eldridge later returned and secretly assassinated Eric and others, she would be completely helpless.

  Leaving enemies alive, especially when there was clear killing intent between parties, was always a very unwise thing to do. But there was nothing more she could do about it.

  Bella Noll could only hope she would live long enough for at least Eric to become an adult and a Mana Wielder.

  After the short conversation, Bella Noll sent Jarvis away.

  After Jarvis left, a small line of blood streamed down from the side of Bella Noll’s mouth.

  Bella Noll didn’t mind and just smiled. She had lost at least half a year of her lifespan.

  Nonetheless, thanks to this event, it would now guarantee a peaceful growth period for the children and peaceful lives for the rest of the orphanage people.

  Before today, nobles in the town knew not to mess with her but didn’t know what her bottom line was. Now they would know she wouldn’t tolerate any harm directed toward her orphanage people. With this, no one would mess with them, and this would provide Eric, Lyria, and Livy a safer period of time for their growth.